In the novel, wendy is a smart, independent blonde. The shining is a horror novel by american author stephen king. The shining stanley kubrick, 1980 since its creation in 1980 by the late, great stanley kubrick, the shining has since developed a cult following and is now considered to be one of the greatest and most terrifying horror films ever created. With ghosts, visions and psychological horror, the shining by stephen king is a very good horror story, i would say one of his best, right up there with the likes of salems lot which is another sk novel that i recommend if you enjoy horror. Jack torrance character the story take place in colorado and begins with jack torrance, going to a place by the name of the overlook hotel to be the caretaker over the winter months, because of coast of keeping a twentyfive mile road, in which it take to. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
Stephen king s the shining fits neatly in the tradition of shirley jacksons the haunting of hill house 1959 and richard mathesons hell house 1971. King does a good job in all of his books to keep a relatively gloomy sensation while reading them. The shining is a supernatural horror novel written by stephen king and published in 1977. Seriously exhaustive analysis of the shining shows kubricks inversion of kings novel the documentary room 237 has been called a diy mashup of the many theories put forward over the years as interpretations of stanley kubrickss 1980 horror classic, the shining. The shining study guide literature guide litcharts. Of course, there are times when the author seems to make bold statements about the underlying context which may appear crass or offensive to diehard fans. Her gullible nature, her compassion for danny and her husband seems to be her only flaws. Seriously exhaustive analysis of the shining shows kubrick. He was renowned for using supernatural events in many of his stories making them a mixture of horror, gloom, and fantasy. To watch my previous video analysis of the shining, based upon some of the concepts described in the text of the article, scroll to the bottom of this page. The summary of the film is of a family that heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings. The main character jack torrance is a violent, recovering alcoholic who has broken his son, dannys arm while drunk before. The shining is a film about cyclical violence, and about how we cant escape the dark specter of history. The history of the hotel, which is described in backstory by several characters, includes the deaths of some of its guests and of former winter caretaker delbert grady, who succumbed to cabin fever and killed his family and himself.
Summaries a family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past. Stanley kubricks the shining was released in 1980, and since has been hailed as one of the greatest horror movies ever made. It seems, poetically apt that, at the time stanley kubrick was describing arabesques rounds space stations and star corridors and the history of human consciousness in space odyssey, michael snow was making wavelength, the birth of a. So, when i read anything sort of analysis about the movie, i become intrigued. The final, terrible shot of jack on the ground, his frozen face forever stuck in its maniacal, upwardlooking openmouth gaze, instantly freezes itself into the brain of anyone who. Jack torrance, his wife wendy, and their young son danny move into the overlook hotel, where jack has been. It was his third published novel, after carrie and salems lot.
But there is a deleted scene from the shining 1980 that casts wendys reliability in a curious light. Lets take a close look at some of the characters in stephen kings the shining. It centers on the writer jack torrence and his family, as they become the isolated, winter caretakers of the overlook hotel in the rockies. Find summaries for every chapter, including a the shining chapter summary chart to help you understand the book. Jack torrance interviews for a job as the winter caretaker at the overlook hotel, a remote resort in colorado built between 1907 and 1909. Jan 29, 2019 the most debated element of the shining s ending is the revelation in the final shot that jack is present in a photo of the overlooks fourth of july party in 1921. How does the ending of the shining differ from stephen king. The eerie hotel combined with music and sound effects played a major role in the film, giving it a sense of paranoia. Interpretations, also known as theories or readings are fan based interpretations of the meanings of hidden themes found in the 1980 stanley kubrick film version of the 1977 stephen king novel the shining. I recently found what is arguably the most exhaustive. The shining mainly takes place in the fictional overlook hotel, an isolated, haunted resort hotel located in the colorado rockies.
May 31, 20 the documentary room 237 has been called a diy mashup of the many theories put forward over the years as interpretations of stanley kubrickss 1980 horror classic, the shining. This is a fairly complex aspect of the film, which will be explored over several chapters of this analysis, but for now well simply explore the encoded details that reveal which scenes. Seriously exhaustive analysis of the shining shows kubricks. The stanley hotelwhere king reportedly came up with the idea for the shining had no history of hauntings or paranormal occurrences until after its connection with the famous book. The film version made big changes to the character of jack overall, and subsequently, many elements of the story were completely modified to better represent the character the picture was working with. A boys special perception and a possessed hotel interact with deadly results in the novel the shining by stephen king. Check out his first column below, exploring the shining. King wrote many bestselling books but his book the shining, published in 1977, established king as a great american writer as told by the article stephen king by richard bleiler. The death is also nothing like jacks fate in the novelization of the shining, written by stephen king. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. Moving his wife, wendy, and their son, danny, into it for the. While expressing true kubrick style, the films utilisation of the temporal and. The setting and characters are influenced by kings personal experiences, including both his visit to the.
Jack torrance, his wife wendy, and their young son danny move into the overlook hotel, where jack has been hired as the. Mar 12, 2019 in, the shining, it is often argued that jack starts the story as the primary antagonist, one that he would have gone down his path regardless of his choices, however, king breaks down jack torrances flaws and inner demons that allow him to be a tragic hero. The setting and characters are influenced by kings personal experiences, including both his visit to the stanley hotel in 1974 and his recovery from alcoholism. This same pattern will play out later when jack is in thrall to the overlook.
A space odyssey and a clockwork orange, kubrick works across genres and his movies come with impeccable directing, atmosphere and a sense of intelligence. Jack instinctively dislikes the hotel manager, stuart ullman, and the feeling is mutual. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the shining by stephen king. Oct 09, 2016 the shining is a supernatural horror novel written by stephen king and published in 1977. Sep 20, 2019 one example would be the shining the jack torrance character is the protagonist at the beginning of the movie but once the evil forcesentity that haunts or indeed is the overlook hotel he becomes the nemesis and from then on were rooting for wendy and danny. Themes and characterism in stephen kings the shining cram. This car belongs to jack torrance, who has driven three hours to the isolated overlook hotel for a job interview. Nov 01, 2012 born from a bad dream experienced during a onenight stay at a colorado hotel that was closing for the season, the shining is the first book stephen king wrote from a position of financial. Analysis the first chapter of the shining sets up most of the conflicts that will drive the rest of the story. A sequel, titled doctor sleep, was published in 20.
It was made into a film by stanley kubrick in 1980. Renowned director stanley kubrick was a master of his time, an auteur if you will, who drew his inspiration from various literary works. The book is more psychologically disturbing, thrilling, and all of those are sprinkled with touches of spooks. The hotel has a sordid past, including the deaths of several of its guests, and a former caretaker, delbert grady, who succumbed to cabin fever and murdered his family. The subliminal details of little dannys shining visions reveal that his psychic episodes are simply nightmares about his fathers psychotic tendencies. Stephen king was born on september 21, 1947, in portland, maine. And there is good reason for viewers to puzzle over the film 33 years after its release. The book made danny the catalyst to jacks madness, as the overlook hotel was after danny and his shining power. The title alerts us to the big idea or central concept around which the novel orbits. The tension felt when jack jack nicholson chases danny danny lloyd through the hotel grounds is incredible. The shining, even though might not be the one to deliver an extremely frightening tale, it manages to provide us a pool of drama, thrills, disturbance, and everything you could think of in a good horror story for us to dive into. Now, the stanley hotel is synonymous with ghosts, and guided tours of the hotels paranormal hotspots are offered during both the day and night. The best study guide to the shining on the planet, from the creators of sparknotes. This analysis was a long time coming, considering its not only one i had been intending to do for years and even hinted at in a previous video, but also because its the film that everybody has.
Hardcover paperback trade kindle audio movie tv miniseries dvd. After jack broke dannys arm while drunk, he feared that he was turning into his father. The hotel will soon close for the winter, but cant be left unattended. Jack torrance character analysis in the shining litcharts. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is. Learn all about how the characters in the shining such as overlook hotel and danny torrance contribute to the story and how they fit into the plot. Whereas in the movie, danny was very isolated and distant, barely ever spoke, and was scared for the entire film. Danny s father, wendy s husband, and the antagonist of the shining.
Be sure to check out squarespace here and use promo code merphynapie. The shining is a tragedy, and wed be remiss to classify the ending otherwise. The the shining quotes below are all either spoken by jack torrance or refer to jack torrance. The shining study guide contains a biography of stanley kubrick, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. This book to date is the best and most interesting analysis. The shining s 1980 hedge maze chase is one of the most iconic endings in horror history. Drama analysis of the shining the shining is a 1980 psychological horror film directed by stanley kubrick. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one.
No escape the shining is based off a novel written by stephen king in 1977 and later produced as a horror film by stanley kubrick in 1980. How does the ending of the shining differ from stephen. Review and analysis posted on may 25, 20 by carl 21 comments stanley kubrick remains one of americas strongest filmmakers best known for classics such as 2001. The shining is a stanley kubrick film, and as such it makes impeccableif also horrificsense. The shining tends to be opaque, even though its corridors are welllit. During the interview for the caretakers position, in the back of his head, jack is insulting his employer. He has a deep desire to be a good father, a good husband and a. Firstly, jack torrance is the sympathetic character, a father and a husband. The story of this film is based off the book, the shining by stephen king. The multitude of subliminal details in the shining contained in this analysis have barely ever been described by the films cast and crew during interviews. Stephen king characters wendy torrance she is jacks wife.
Once a writer taps into the deepest level of a protagonists need, what i like to call their unconscious goal, that translates into that characters psychological end point. The shining, gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. His imaginary friend tony guides him through these experiences. Its as if they had no awareness of such subliminal details, and with high numbers of takes, consistently changing scripts and assorted onset mind games from kubrick, its no wonder.
Born from a bad dream experienced during a onenight stay at a colorado hotel that was closing for the season, the shining is the first book stephen king wrote from a. Seriously exhaustive analysis of the shining shows. The universal theme of this book is the constant force of good vs. The shining is the story of jack torrance, who is employed as the. Nov 15, 2016 this analysis was a long time coming, considering its not only one i had been intending to do for years and even hinted at in a previous video, but also because its the film that everybody has. Danny possesses psychic abilities he calls the shining that allow him to read minds and experience premonitions. The shining is a tale about the lives of a family in which the husband works as a caretaker in a hotel overlooking colorado, named the overlook hotel, and much to the husband and wifes unknowing, the hotel has a force within it that transcends the eras and would like to spread further terror to the ones inside it, and the one to notice, and experience it firsthand is the familys son, danny torrance. Jack resents stuart ullman from their first meeting, but he tries to play nice and agrees to fulfill the jobs obligations. The shining begins with jack torrance being interviewed for the caretakers job at the overlook hotel.
Near the end of the film, on a frigid night, jack chases danny into the labyrinth on the hotel. This was the reason for jacks attempt to kill his son, as the hotel was unable to. The the shining 1977 novel community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context. Even the beginning of the book, the reader can see that it is jack against the world. A presold prefab blockbuster, what with kings carrie hitting the moviehouses, salems lot being lensed, the shining itself sold to warner bros. The shining is two stories, both the same, but somehow very different. The shining was stephen kings third published novel, written as his rise to fame as a horror writer was beginning.
Jack is a failed writer who has battled alcoholism. The shining is a novel published in 1977 by stephen king, a wellknown american author. The suspense, blood and gore made the film so intriguing. Published in 1977, it is kings third published novel and first hardback bestseller. And that awareness can shape the emerging story structure. Ullman, the hotels manager, is interviewing jack for a job as the hotels caretaker during the winter months. However, the text version is a much more thorough breakdown of the film and includes video stills and other research sources. It was his third novel and his first hardback best seller. Movie, hell be taking a critical look at movie adaptations of horror novels.
Detailed analysis of characters in stephen kings the shining. The shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by stanley kubrick and cowritten with novelist diane johnson. Stephen king has also written doctor sleep which is the shining book two. Stephen king s the shining, published in 1977, is a horror novel. Two of the novels central themesnamely, the dangers of alcoholism and the disintegration of the familyare extracts of the authors personal fears. Jun 22, 2012 the shining is the story of jack torrance, who is employed as the caretaker of the gargantuan overlook hotel in colorado one winter. Many of the interpretations of the shining, especially those on the room 237 documentary have been mistakenly labeled as conspiracy theories. The overlook is built on the sacred lands of native americans slaughtered by white. The setting is the overlook, a palatial resort on a colorado mountain top, snowbound and closed down for the long, long. The shining is a gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. It sounds like something thats somehow beautiful and horrible at the same. The strongest connections are with the stand, where characters do indeed shine. The shining is generally considered by critics and king enthusiasts to be one of his best novels, along with carrie 1974, salems lot 1975, and the stand 1978. The shining opens on an eagleeyes view of a car traveling up windy colorado mountain passes.